sprawl

Plural: sprawls

Noun

an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities
an ungainly posture with arms and legs spread about
An ungainly sprawling posture.
A straggling, haphazard growth, especially of housing on the edge of a city.
A defensive technique that is done in response to certain takedown attempts, where one scoots the legs backwards so as to land on the upper back of the opponent.

Verb

Verb Forms: sprawled, sprawling, sprawls

To spread out in an ungainly or ungraceful way.
sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way
To sit with the limbs spread out.
To spread out in a disorderly fashion; to straggle.
To scoot the legs backwards, so as to land on the upper back of an opponent attempting a takedown.

Examples

His letters seemed to sprawl across the rack, making it hard to form words.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English spraulen, from Old English spreawlian (“move convulsively”), ultimately through a Proto-Germanic form cognate with *spreutaną (“to sprout”) from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to strew”). Compare North Frisian spraweli, Norwegian sprala, Swedish sprala.

Synonyms

conurbation, sprawling, straggle, urban sprawl, splay

Scrabble Score: 11

sprawl: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
sprawl: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
sprawl: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

sprawl: valid Words With Friends Word